Every day that Troy Nordman steps in front of his Butler Community College English classes he sees the lights go on. He watches as imagination and possibility start to shine in the lives of his students.

“There is something so powerful about writing,” Nordman said. “It’s an extension of who you are as a person. We encourage our students to explore what they know, to put their lives under a microscope where they can be examined and shared. When you start to see their writing take shape, you see them discover what their passion is.”

Add to that the one-on-one connections that occur at Butler, and students become focused and determined, Nordman said. “At the start of the semester, I ask them where they want to be in 16 weeks. My job is to help them reach whatever goal they set. And I’ll do what it takes to get them there. I’ll walk into class dressed like an 1850s carpenter with breeches and knee-high spatterdashes to make the connection between the stories my students are reading and the real lives behind them. Written history isn’t just a set of dates; it’s the story of lives.”

“I love bringing our Kansas past to life for my students and the community. I’m a re-enactor at Cowtown, I craft leather chaps and saddles, I want to learn from the past. History shows us who we are and how we got where we are today, but it also gives us a glimpse into what could happen. One of the great things about Butler is you get to help make and experience those ‘ah-ha” moments with the kids. Butler brings together kids who are just out of high school, who really don’t know what they want to do with their lives and older students who are coming back to school to move into a new phase of their lives. These two feed off each other, they challenge and learn from each other.

“To me, that’s the power of Butler.”